Page 34 of The Pack Next Door (The Wolfverse #4)

Jace

Everything was going to hell.

I remembered this shit from when I was a kid.

Everyone talking at once, their voices getting louder and louder, as if that would help.

It didn’t. Instead, the anger and fear just pressed down on me hard.

My eyes flicked around the table, watching everyone’s faces flushing, their eyes shining, and my wolf growled, ready to demand everyone shut the fuck up.

Instead, my fingers went to my lips and I let out a piercing whistle.

That had everyone turning my way.

OK, I thought, get them laughing. It’s the only way to stop from getting into the newspapers for a murder/suicide.

“So usually we don’t start arguing like this unless it’s Christmas and Uncle Dave has had way too much rum and is wearing his underpants on his head.

” I looked around at my family with exaggerated care.

“Can’t see him anywhere, so before Mum tries to take feminism back to the 1950s, Mads tells everyone that they’re stupid, and then Gideon provides a ten-slide PowerPoint analysing what went wrong, how about we eat whatever amazing concoction Mum whipped up? ”

I shook my head slowly.

“The last thing we need is two wolf packs getting hangry.”

“She’s not the right omega for you,” Mum said. I’d have assumed she was a bull terrier shifter, not a wolf, if I hadn’t seen her shift with my own eyes, because that woman never let a single thing go. “I told you?—”

“That you need some help in the kitchen?”

When I got to my feet, Mum followed. Whatever the hell my grandparents told her growing up, nothing got her snippier than a man in her kitchen.

My kitchen, I reminded myself.

“Who the hell does that little madam think she is?” Mum spluttered. “Coming to my house?—”

“My house.” Her eyes met mine, her mouth opening, but hey, the grandparents’ conditioning helped me out sometimes.

Mouth closed with a snap; she stared at me mulishly.

“And I assume that Briar…” I emphasised her name, “is just trying to do what everyone wants.” I settled back against the counter, wondering how the fuck we ended up here.

In the forest, there was quiet, the moon, birds and my mate in my arms. Nothing else mattered.

Part of me wanted to take fur and run out there, looking for my omega amongst the trees. “To be happy.”

“Happy comes from doing your part.” Gods, had I heard that lecture from Mum often enough growing up. “Remember that, Jace.”

“Well, right now, I’ll have to settle for your pot pie.”

This was what chicken was supposed to smell like.

Flaky, buttery crust. Savoury chicken flavoured with thyme.

I pulled out plates on automatic. Mum stabbed into the pie with way too much emphasis, the spatula clinking against the casserole dish.

The pies were divided unevenly again, forcing me to redistribute the slices so my mother actually got more food than what you’d give a small child, but it didn’t seem to ease the frown she was wearing.

And nothing ever did.

She’d be in a snit until she decided otherwise, that was a lesson I’d learned the hard way, so instead of trying to cheer her up, I brought the plates outside.

“I told you to ask Briar if this was what she wanted.” Mads bit off every word as he spoke to Gideon. Oh goodie, we were still on that, were we? I sat down in front of my own plate, but all the pot pie in the world was not enough to erase the feeling of unease.

Leave the deck , the wolf demanded. Go next door. Scale the side of her house if you have to.

And do what? I shot back. Huff and puff until I blow her house down?

Now people’s conversations washed over me.

The dads were talking about the next trial and Mum had several snide things to say about Briar.

Mads and Gideon were talking very fast, neither listening to the other.

And me? I stared up at Briar’s window, observing the glow of her light from behind the curtain, watching for a sign of my mate.

My mate.

Growing up, everything we’d learned and dreamed of for the future was tied to the idea that the other half of my soul was out there in the world, ready for me to woo.

I thought I was prepared for meeting Briar, only to discover everything I knew was wrong.

If you’d asked me about moving to Moon River and becoming the ruling pack on the first drive over to the town, I’d have said it was what I wanted most in the world.

Getting away from Glen Hallow and the dicks that ran the place was the only way forward.

Now I just wanted Briar.

I pushed my food around on my plate, my appetite destroyed now she wasn’t here.

“Eat up,” Mum said crisply. “I didn’t spend all day cooking in the kitchen for you to turn your nose up at my cooking.”

Something we never asked her to do. If she and the dads weren’t here, how would that conversation with Briar have gone? Could we have at least discussed it? I was about to say just that, when Max cut me off.

“Lovesick, he is.” He nudged me in the ribs.

“Or rather, pussy whipped. She’s leading you around by the nose, literally.

Get the scent of an omega in heat in your nostrils and you’ll do stupid things.

” He turned to my other dads. “Remember when we fumbled that footy game the first time April went into heat? Still haven’t lived that down. ”

“Stupid things like give a shit with Briar thinks?” I said.

Suddenly I was on my feet, looking down at the lot of them.

I’d wanted them all to shut up, and somehow that’s what I achieved.

So why didn’t I feel better about it? I pondered that upstairs and in the shower, scrubbing at my body.

There were bruises on my ribs from where one of the opposing alphas booted me trying to get that rabbit.

Something I would’ve been proud to wear if it was all in Briar’s honour.

But as I touched the sore spot, all I felt was an ache that just wouldn’t let up, not even when I slid into bed.

My phone out, I was ready to doom scroll until the urge to head next door eased, when I heard a rap on my door. With a sigh, I said, “Come in.”

Was I relieved it was Mads or annoyed? I couldn’t decide, but he came to stand by my bed either way.

“You know what we’ve gotta do, right?” This was the line he gave me every time we did something spectacularly stupid. It had me bracing myself then, and now. “All Gideon and the parents think about is taking over this town…”

But that wasn’t what he wanted.

I stared at Mads, not knowing how to respond. He was always the troublemaker, creating a fuss when there didn’t need to be one, but for once I agreed.

“So we…?” I blinked and then looked around at my room. We’d bought this house, banking on the fact that if we didn’t become the ruling pack, at least we’d be able to live here with our omega in peace. “We leave Moon River for the city?”

“I’m not sticking around anywhere Briar isn’t.” Mads’ eyes flashed silver in the gloom, right as he looked across at her house. “Not doing another trial. No point, if that isn’t what she wants. The alpha?—”

“Protects and cares for the omega.”

As I finished his sentence for him, I knew we were both revisiting one of the many times we’d been told just that.

“We thought it would be alpha trials and proving ourselves worthy of becoming a ruling pack, but those were Mum’s and the dads’ dreams.” A smile spread across Mads’ face.

“I spent the afternoon sending emails for our mate, and it was a helluva lot more satisfying than chasing a damn bunny around.” His eyes met mine. “That was for the town, not Briar.”

So what did she need? Everything I’d been told made clear our instincts would kick in, making clear what we had to do. I waited for them to do just that as I joined my brother by my window, staring at her place, looking for clues.

They came the next morning.

The sound of a car door shutting had my eyes flicking open. Usually I was a mess first thing in the morning, but when the wolf took control, I was up and out of bed before I could think twice. The sight of Briar wheeling a suitcase was obviously what he wanted me to see.

Go.

My legs were moving, blindly grabbing a bag down from the top of my cupboard and then shoving clothes into it.

Which ones, for what reason, it didn’t seem to matter.

The wolf made clear he was granting me a very big favour by even letting me bother to grab a single thing when our omega was down there, about to leave.

My feet skidded across the floor when she went back inside to grab something else, and that had me dragging my bag after me as I barged into Mads’ room.

“Wha…?”

His hair was spiked up all over his head, his eyes blank and staring before he saw me. Bag, brother, dressed and ready to go, I could almost see him cataloguing each part of me and then put two and two together.

“Where?”

That came out of Mads as a growl.

“Briar is leaving.”

That was all it took to get him out of bed. Clothes were dragged on and he came stumbling after me, the two of us running downstairs and towards the front door.

Only to be intercepted by Gideon.

The freak had obviously been up early going for yet another run. Sweat prickled his brow and soaked his shirt, but he paid that little attention, staring at the two of us.

“Where are you going?”

“With Briar,” I said, squaring up, my hands held loosely by my sides. Ready to use violence if that was needed. His eyes narrowed in response. “So if you’ll excuse us…”

Gideon didn’t try to stop us, instead following the two of us outside. Briar had re-emerged, and when I saw she had another bag, I tossed mine to my brothers and then strode forward, picking it up by the handle as soon as I reached her side.